Chapter 658 – Room 301, The Cursed Room – ‘Origin of Species’ (5)
—
User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 3
Current Location: Floor 3, Observation Deck
Sage’s Advice: 2
—
– Han Kain
“How do I look?”
“… What are you doing right now?”
“Nothing at all.”
Songee finally found her composure, smiling brightly. After all, she had successfully captured her opponent with the power of blessings.
Next was Eunsol Unnie, who was on the line with a Bureau employee.
“This is the Seoul branch of the Bureau. Is this Lee Eunsol? What’s going on?”
“Yes, I received some information regarding a bizarre chaos disaster—”
– Saaah…!
Room 301 – or rather, a mind observing an ancient loop became unmoored from its telescope.
As soon as she came down, Elena nearby wore a worried expression.
“How are Unnie and Songee doing?”
“A little while ago, Eunsol Unnie reported to the Bureau.”
“Oh dear! Why doesn’t she know? The Bureau is in no state to be trusted right now!”
Elena seemed frustrated, while her colleagues sighed nearby. Everyone felt uneasy watching Songee and Eunsol enter Room 301.
I felt the same way at first, but as I kept observing, I began to think.
“The Bureau overseeing Room 301 is an unreliable entity.”
“Exactly. And now she goes and reports to the Bureau! What a mistake—”
“The problem is, it’s way too hard for Eunsol Unnie to realize that.”
“Huh?”
“How did we even know that the Bureau for Room 301 was strange in the first place?”
Suddenly, Ahri spoke up, filling the void of silence.
“There were several Bureau employees sneaking around inside the Daeyang Group.”
“How did you know that?”
“I just can tell by looking.”
“Do you think Eunsol Unnie can spot that?”
“She’s not a genius. If Eunsol had worked in the Bureau for around 30 years, maybe.”
“Another reason we judged the Bureau suspiciously is the information Songee received. The identity of their target openly said, ‘The Bureau wouldn’t intervene right now.’”
“Right, something Eunsol wouldn’t be aware of.”
Next came the story about Songee.
“Songee’s situation is similar. After obtaining that gray cat—Gray, bizarre gazes started to follow her around, right?”
“That’s correct! It was a significant number of animal watches.”
“Do you think Songee can catch that? When we walk down the street, do we even pay attention to where the pigeons are looking?”
“Not likely. It’s not like she has ten eyes.”
In third-person observational mode, we surveyed Songee and her surroundings, while Songee’s viewpoint was completely different.
After all, human eyes are naturally located at the front.
Sanghyun breathed out quietly, “Inside, one cannot see the whole… I’m starting to understand what that means. Someone else probably would have had a similar experience.”
Same thought. If anyone else had gone in, they wouldn’t have fared much differently from the two currently inside.
“Reflecting back on past experiences, the first attempt is always chaotic. The script, let alone the enemy, is uncertain.”
Sanghyun picked up the next commentary.
“Even the two who just entered are not merely the initial attempts for Room 301. They represent the first attempt for the entire Floor 3.”
Eunsol Unnie and Songee weren’t just uninformed about Room 301 but about the whole third floor itself.
Thus, they were at a more significant disadvantage compared to the future first attempts in Rooms 302, 303, and so on.
Why didn’t they understand my repeated poltergeist warnings?
It’s because they didn’t even know it was possible for such interference to occur.
Thus, they disregarded my warnings or perceived them as ominous signs of an unknown nature, which was still a reasonable assessment.
At that moment, Miro mumbled with a slightly gloomy face.
“If Kain had gone in, would it have made a difference?”
“Me?”
“With advice and understanding of the scenario! Plus, you’re smart…”
“…”
“Isn’t it obvious that Seungyub made a mistake in picking?”
“Miro, he may make mistakes, but fate doesn’t.”
Regardless of trust in Seungyub, I had experienced fate’s overwhelming performance repeatedly.
Miro probably knew this too, but after hearing my gloomy chatter all day, she seemed to be feeding on negativity.
“Then why do only those two have to go?”
It was the question that had haunted all of us since yesterday.
Why had fate chosen only Eunsol and Yu Songee?
“…”
First, the first entrant has to face an inherently unfavorable scenario.
Second, fate’s insistence on just two people entering is perplexing.
At a glance, it seems contradictory, but how about viewing it from a different perspective?
I felt like I was starting to see the answer.
*
– Lee Eunsol
The intelligent animals – during the chaos disaster report, my words were cut off when the employee responded urgently.
“Miss Eunsol, we received your report. This is a severe crisis situation. Moving recklessly is dangerous, so please wait. We will send a response team shortly.”
– Click!
In an instant, the call was disconnected.
At first glance, this is typical for reporting chaotic disasters, whether in reality or the cursed room.
But suddenly, what is this overwhelming discomfort?
“…”
I never said I was in danger.
Also, being the daughter of the Daeyang Group chairman and an executive means there aren’t many security personnel nearby.
Having gained nominal Bureau agent status in reality, I had observed the handling of tasks over their shoulders, so I felt something strange.
In low-risk situations, it’s typical to send only one or two personnel to respond.
It’s not that the Bureau lacks a sense of crisis.
It’s just that they don’t have the manpower to deploy force for every single report coming in from around the world.
Yet they plan to send a response team right away?
I didn’t even mention having talking animals by my side; what do they plan to suppress—
At that moment, I felt a chilling shiver running down my spine!
– Thud!
“What the!”
First, let’s move locations and think this through.
*
I quickly grabbed my car keys and stepped out of the office.
“Oh my, Executive! What brings you here?”
“Secretary Kim, I’ve got an urgent schedule. Cancel the afternoon meeting!”
“I already canceled it.”
“What—”
Wait, she canceled it already?
When I was stunned with my eyes wide open, Secretary Kim, who had been serving me for five years, flashed a cheerful smile.
“Executive, you should wait. Didn’t you hear that you’re to stay put?”
“You…”
Feeling an intense sense of caution, I took a step back.
– Dash!
With a loud clamor, suited employees began crowding in.
All of them had beaming smiles.
Each one wore the same expression.
They all walked in sync, right foot then left.
Their footsteps, and even the rhythm of their breath, were the same as if they were marionettes controlled by a single magician.
“…”
I barely just finished talking to the Bureau, and merely 3 or 4 minutes have passed, right?
In that short time, how is it possible for so many ‘response team’ members to arrive?
Were there Bureau employees present in the office beforehand?
“Executive.”
“…”
“Executive! Executive! Executive! Executive! Executive! Executive! Executive! Executive! Executive! Executive! Executive! Executive! Executive! Executive! Executive! Executive! Executive! Executive! Executive!”
The daylight felt suffocatingly chilly.
At that moment—
“What’s going on here?”
My father – Chairman Lee Seok-hwan’s voice echoed.
Just as I was about to say something, my father, who had mysteriously approached, whispered in my ear.
“Eunsol, I’ll handle this, so just stay quiet.”
“…”
What is happening right now?
While I struggled to grasp the situation, my father spoke to the eerily energetic employees—or perhaps to the strange entity controlling them.
“Baron, I don’t know why this is happening so suddenly. There seems to be a misunderstanding.”
“Your daughter was just about to leak information about ‘transference’ to the outside. This is a grave act of betrayal.”
“I’ll explain everything. I have taken on all dealings with you, and my children know nothing about ‘transference.’ My daughter may have happened to witness the process. So please—”
A vague major connection began to emerge between the talking animals and my suspicious chairman father!
The people trapped in animal bodies are experiencing the aftermath of what they call ‘transference’.
There’s an unknown group behind the scenes, and is my father involved in that group?
“I warned you a long time ago, didn’t I? There are rewards for your merits and punishments for your actions.”
“This case is simply a mistake—”
“No, it’s no different. But, since it’s not your mistake, I’ll only punish your daughter.”
It’s not an equal relationship.
The other side is in a position of absolute superiority, and my father is completely servile, bowing to that authority.
The moment I understood this, over a dozen employees raised their hands in unison.
“A three-year isolation sentence is hereby imposed.”
As soon as I heard it, I immediately grasped the meaning of ‘three-year isolation.’
How could someone possibly not understand the phenomenon of a soul trapped in an animal?
If this goes through, I’d be trapped in the body of a dog or cat for at least three years!
A breathless atmosphere quaked around me.
An unknown, chilling touch approached, as if it would melt my head away.
I moved my hands instantly as the employees wore grins as bright as a sunflower.
It felt as if an invisible entity was speaking to me.
Was I about to pull out a gun? Do you think it’d mean anything in this scenario?
Of course, the object I called forth wasn’t any gun.
“A flute?”
– Laaaah…!
As the beautiful melody spread forth, the foreboding sensation that threatened to shred my skull began to wash away.
For the first time, the opponent showed a surprised reaction.
“… What a mystical power. I didn’t expect you to be able to block the transference.”
As the butterfly brooch above my head released a swarm of butterflies, beginning to overwhelm the surrounding employees—the opponent spoke towards my father, not me.
“This price must be paid.”
*
Before long, the corridor fell eerily silent.
Father and daughter stood wordlessly, staring at each other.
The first to speak was me.
“Father.”
“Eunsol… where did you even acquire such a tool?”
“We’ve got lots to discuss. You’ll want to know the source of my power and what exactly ‘transference’ is, as well as your relationship with those people—”
Just then, the lights began to flicker around us.
“What’s happening—”
“Urrgh…!”
Before I even finished speaking, I heard a groan.
“Ah, Aah! Eunsol! Eunsol!”
“Father.”
“Rather, I should have been punished! Up until now, this was a mistake, and after a few years of hardship, it would have ended!”
“…”
“It… it’s too late now. Since you’ve offended the baron—”
Chairman Lee Seok-hwan, my father, began to ramble in terror.
In that moment, the emotions I felt were difficult to express in words.
Having experienced countless mystical occurrences in the hotel and in reality—I knew this fact.
Regardless of being a wealthy tycoon or whatever, to the truly exalted, they’re just insignificant beings.
In truth, they’d be akin to a beetle among a swarm of ants.
Meeting a demon, a monster, or a chaotic entity, it wouldn’t be strange to collapse and cry like a child.
I understand this in my mind. Yet, grasping it in my heart was something I found challenging.
In the moment I had idolized the chairman of the Daeyang Group, a prominent businessman, to witness his weak side, my father…
“Father, answer me this: Is the baron the rank of that being that was just threatening us?”
“…”
“With resisting crimes added, a stronger being will come to punish us. Is that right?”
“…”
“If it’s a higher rank than a baron, what might that be? Count? Marquis?”
Just then, from beyond the darkened corridor, I heard distant whispers.
It was a sound that couldn’t be traced to any source.
While it didn’t speak, its unwavering resonance conveyed everything.
It was a warning. It was a threat. It was a promise.
The company’s landscape twisted, and the corridor was no longer linear.
It became a space resembling the belly of a beast infinitely twisted.
The door was no longer simply a door.
It was a mouth. And that mouth opened and closed, as if it wanted to swallow someone.
The windows were no longer mere windows.
They were eyes. And those eyes didn’t gaze outside; they peered within.
An intangible touch brushed against me.
Cold, soft, and heavy—these hands pressed down on my shoulders.
At this point, I accepted it.
I’m confronting a being beyond my limits.
In other words, I have been defeated.
The first attempt was a failure.
As I felt a distant sensation and closed my eyes—
A notification arrived from the hotel.
*
– Yu Songee
“…”
I thought things were going smoothly, but that wasn’t the case at all.
Having enchanted the being that occupied Park Jiho’s body, I thought it’d work somehow…
Not at all.
All that happened was the true entity sensing the ‘twisting’ of a mere ‘lower-tier’ being.
As I let my head droop under the unnameable pressure—
A notification arrived from the hotel.
—
“You have failed!
Chasing only the visible anomalies, you leaped into enemy territory.
Rather than a great hero, don’t you look more like a foolish wild boar?
Of course, considering it was your first attempt, some areas were unavoidable.
You failed to resolve the curse’s origin. Regrettable.
Yet, opportunities still await. Wait for your allies.
Soon, ‘The Post-Apocalyptic World’ will begin!”
—
“… What?”
Post-apocalyptic world?
*
「User: Han Kain (Wisdom)
Date: Day 3
Current Location: Floor 3, Observation Deck
Sage’s Advice: 2」
—
– Han Kain
As the entire space began to tremor, a notification appeared before everyone’s eyes.
“You have failed to resolve the situation. Therefore, ‘The Post-Apocalyptic World’ is commencing!”
“Uhhhhh! Wh-what is this?!”
“What do you mean?!”
Hearing the panicked voices of my comrades made me reflect.
So that’s why fate only tossed in Eunsol Unnie and Songee for this first attempt!
After all, since the first attempt is bound to fail, it was likely an effort to minimize the number of people caught up in it!
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